Harry Potter and the Year of Terror
by Maemagic
Summary: FAN-FAN fiction. Fan sequel to HP and the Year Of Truth. (you should probably read I Care About You first too.) year five gh romance adventure (with sally!)
1. What Happens Now?

Chapter One  
What Happens Now?  
  
When Ginny woke up the next morning, she was grinning broadly. At first she couldn't remember why she was so happy. 'Oh yeah, Harry loves me.' She thought happily. She got up and dressed quickly. Sally came slithering in just as she was pulling on her shirt. "Sssomebody looksss extremely happy." Sally replied slyly. "Why do you think?" She asked with great sarcasm. "Doesss it have to do with a certain black haired boy that you kissssed last night?" She asked innocently with a wide grin. "Yes." Ginny said then she jumped on her bed, pulled her pillow toward her, and screamed happily into it. "It wasss that good, huh?" Said Sally, climbing up the bedpost next to her. "It was better than that. Oh Sal, it felt so good to finally let it out." "Yesss, well, I know it wasss good for Harry, too. He kept murmuring in hisss sssleep about you. Sssomething about your sssoft ssskin." Ginny looked up at her. "Sal, you are so bad!" She said tossing her pillow at her. "Well, isssn't it my job to be? That'sss what I am here for." And with that, Sally led the way downstairs.  
  
Harry was just setting the breakfast table when Ginny and Sally came in. "Hey Rose, I was just about to wake you up." "With a kissss no doubt." Murmured Sally, so that only Ginny could hear. "Sal, behave!" She whispered back. "Morning Harry!" "You ready for breakfast?" "Yeah."  
  
About a half an hour later, after they had finished breakfast and sent some food to Mrs. Weasley, they sat together on the couch. "What are we supposed to do now?" Asked Ginny. "What do you mean?" "Well, Pawn and Books are coming back in a few days for the family reunion, do we tell them, or do we keep it a secret for a while?" Harry turned to look at her more fully. She had never looked more beautiful than she did now to him. "Well," he said, slightly distracted, "Books already knows, she's known for a while now, but I think we can hold off telling Pawn a little while longer. He's more clueless than I am, and I don't think he wants, or is ready, to know that we are together." "You can't keep it from him forever." Said Sally wisely. "Yeah, but I don't think it could hurt to prolong the moment. I'm with Harry, I think we can at least be honest with Books, and tell Pawns when we are ready." "And when will that be?" Asked Sally. "How about the day after never?" Asked Harry. "Harry, even Pawn isn't that thick. If he doesn't notice anything by the end of the year, God forbid he isn't that thick, we will tell him." "What if Books tells him?" Harry asked, a little afraid of that idea. "I will ask her not to. We keep a lot of secrets for each other, she won't. And when I explain that we will tell when we are good and ready, she'll back off. At least, I hope." She added.  
  
Ginny and Sally sat in Ginny's room alone later on. "What'sss wrong Rossse? You ssseem a bit preoccupied." "Sal, I am afraid about the prophesy. Harry has to find his true love, but he's spending so much time with me. I don't want to get in the way of the prophesy, that's a scary thought, but I also want to stay with Harry." "I really can't help you there Rossse, I don't know who his true love isss, if I did I would tell you." ' I am lying, but they can't know yet. They aren't ready for it.' "If you ever find out, will you tell me?" "Of courssse." 'When you are ready.'  
  
Ginny and Harry were setting up the picnic for the little party (if you could call 16 people, seventeen if you counted Mary, a small party) and waited in Harry's, which was really Charlie's, room for the guests to arrive while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley waited downstairs. "When are you going to tell Books?" Asked Harry, even though he still wasn't sure if they should do this or not. "Tonight. I wrote to her a little while back and said that we should have a girl's night up again so we could talk about our summers. She wrote back and agreed." She started packing Harry's books into the bottom of his trunk. The summer was over, yet they both had a lot of packing to do before they could get onto Platform 9 3/4 the next day. "Good." "You still aren't sure about this are you, Harry?" "He'sss never sssure about anything." Interjected Sally. "Yes I am. I'm sure that I have way to much power for a fifteen year old boy. I am sure that I love Rose, and I am sure that this summer has been probably the best summer that I have had all my life. Stop packing my stuff, Rose, I can get all that stuff in there in about five seconds with all the power I have." And with a wave of his hand, all of his books, quills, and parchment started piling neatly into the trunk. Ginny had to duck for the cauldron to get by, and she watched as everything piled in. "Very nice. What about your clothes?" She asked. "Like I am going to pack them with you in the room." He said, a glint in his eye. Ginny looked at him, and then processed what she had said. She gave a small gasp. "I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean that I wanted to see all your . . . well . . . hmm . . . uh . . ." "Forget about it, Rose." He said with a grin. "I know what you really meant. I just like messing with your head." "Harry, your getting just as bad as Sally!" She said, and made to throw one of his pillows at him, but he grabbed one first and hit her with it. "Hey! I resent that remark!" Yelled Sally as Ginny grabbed a pillow and hit Harry in retaliation. It turned into a huge battle. Pillow feathers flew everywhere as they whacked each other as hard as they could. After maybe fifteen minutes, Ginny collapsed on the floor as Harry collapsed on the bed. "Well," said Sally. "I have heard of couple argumentsss, but I think that maybe this was a little ridiculousss. Now who is going to clean thisss up?" "I am." Said Harry, a little breathless from the battle. And with another wave . . .  
  
Ron and Hermione entered the room just before Harry could finish the spell. The feathers that had just started to rise off of the floor and bed, returned to where they had been with a quick thump. Harry and Ginny both sat up. "Uh, did we come at a bad time?" Asked Hermione. "No! Welcome back!" Said Ginny, and she ran over to hug Hermione and then Ron. "Did Pawn behave himself?" "Not the best, but he was okay. Your mom looks a lot better Rose." "Yeah," added Ron. "I was really upset that I couldn't come back for mum, but I had to stay with Booky. She made me feel better about it though." "I bet she did." Harry murmured in Parseltoungue so that only Sally and Ginny knew what he was saying. Ginny snorted, and Sally did what could only be described as a laugh. "Do you . . . uh . . . want help cleaning this up?" Asked Hermione, as a change of subject. Ginny looked at Harry, and Harry could tell she wondered if he was going to tell them about his power. He felt that he might as well. He waved his hand and the feathers disappeared. Another wave of his hand and the door shut and locked behind Hermione and Ron. Hermione screamed, and Ron turned to Harry and Ginny for an explanation. "I can use magic without my wand now. I have more power than I can hold, and the wand limits me and gets in my way." And with that, he went into the whole story, about the prophesy, the tower, and . . . well . . . everything. Except, of course, Ginny and his relationship. Hermione would find out later and Ron, well, Ron would just find out. By that time, it had gotten late, and Mrs. Weasley was calling up the stairs for them all to come down and eat. "There's one more thing," said Ginny and they all stopped before they left. "The attack that was done on mom wasn't aimed for mom. It was supposed to be for me." Ron looked like he was about to explode. "Why would somebody want to attack Rose?" He asked through gritted teeth. "We're not sure, but Pawn, don't worry about it. We're going to figure it out and make sure that Rose is safe. We can talk to Professor Dumbledore, and he can figure out some way of protection for her." Said Harry comfortingly. Ron still looked like he was about to explode, so Hermione suggested that they all go down and eat and see the rest of the family. Ron calmed down slightly, and Ron and Hermione walked in front while and Harry and Ginny lagged behind, Sally around Ginny's wrist. "Well, Pawn still hadn't changed. He is really worried." Said Ginny with a sigh. "He just really cares about you and your safety. I do too for that matter." Said Harry, putting an arm around her waist. "Thanks Harry." She said grinning. Harry always made her so happy, and knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. Especially if it had to do with Ron. He just seemed to have a sort of power over her that she couldn't really describe. As they walked out, Charlie called to Ginny, and she ran over to him, leaving Harry with Ron and Hermione. "So how was your summer Harry? Did Ginny have you running around after her?" Asked Ron. Harry looked up at him. He knew that Ron had been joking, but Ron would never know how close to the truth that statement was. "Not really. We were pretty much taking care of your mom all summer, and we only had a little bit of time off on her birthday and my birthday." "Oh really? What did you do?" Asked Hermione. "Nothing really. We just had some cake and ice cream and a little walk." Harry gave her a significant stare that said plainly that she would learn the truth later. She caught it, and gave a slight nod so that Ron couldn't figure anything out. Everybody settled down. Fred and George came over to talk about the joke shop experience and Percy could be seen with Penelope talking about his new job to his mom and dad and Mr. and Mrs. Granger. "And the customers really seemed to like us." Concluded Fred as Mrs. Weasley passed out the dessert. "Yeah, and it's good thing too, since we are taking over Zonko's when the owners retire." Added Fred. "So you guys had a good summer?" Asked Hermione. "Yeah." "The best." "Seems like everybody had fun." Replied Ron. "It would have been perfect if mom hadn't been attacked." Added George. "I wonder why she was attacked." Said Fred. Harry and Ginny looked at each other uneasily. Should they tell Fred and George what happened. They decided not to. "Well," said Hermione. "I think that Rose has some packing to do before we get on the train tomorrow. We're going to call it a night." "Good night!" "Good night." Hermione went over to hug and kiss her parent's good-bye, and Ginny hugged and kissed her parents and gave Charlie one last hug good-bye.  
  
"So, what's going on between you and Harry?" She asked, as she helped pile a few of the books into the bottom of the trunk. "Nothing." Said Ginny quickly. "Oh, the letter that said we had to talk alone was nothing, then, was it?" Said Hermione, turning around to face her. "Well, Harry and I agreed that it would be okay to tell you, because you kind of figured it out a long time ago. You just have to promise not to tell Pawn." Hermione looked at her carefully, and then let out a soft squeal. "You guys finally figured it out! Oh my God! When? How? Did Sally tell you?" "No, she said that she hadn't wanted to say anything, because she thought it best to let us figure it out ourselves. You aren't going to tell Pawn, are you?" "No! Of course I won't if you don't want me to. Rose, this is the best! How long have you been going out?" "We only just figured it out a few nights ago." And with that, Ginny went on to tell her what had happened all summer. The birthdays, the healing stone, Bloody Hell, Diagon Alley, and ended it with what happened when they finally kissed. "Oh my God! He had to go to the bathroom, so he went into yours? And you hadn't warned him?" "It hadn't occurred to me that he would have to use it! It was pretty embarrassing." She said with a shrug. "I can only imagine! I mean, if it gave me a shock the first time I used it, imagine what it did to poor Harry!" "I know!" Said Ginny, shaking her head. "But it's not like I planned for that to happen." "Well, all I can say is, that I am so happy for you that I could just burst." "Think about how I feel! This is happening to me after all!" "Wait minute, are we being to loud? Will Pawn be able to hear us?" Asked Hermione nervously. Ron was staying in Charlie's room with Harry, it being to much of a hassle to unpack his stuff and bring it into his room and then have to clean it up tomorrow morning. "No, Harry put a sound proof charm on my room a little while ago. We could scream at the top of our lungs, and nobody would hear us." "Let's finish packing. We can talk all we want when the year starts."  
  
The next morning, nobody was in a rush. All the packing had been done last night, so nobody had any problem finding their school things. They left the Burrow in the Ministry's cars that Mr. Weasley had borrowed from work. They reached King's Cross station in plenty of time. They all said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and climbed on the train, ready for a new year at Hogwarts.  
  
(T/N: Me~ Oh my!  
Heather~ Well, this has to be a first.  
Me~ The first time in history! I can't even believe it myself.  
Heather~ You're writing a chapter story from Lily's story?!?  
Me~ Oh, like I can control even my brilliant mind? When I started this, I had never would have expected THIS to happen.  
Heather~ A fanfic chapter book about a fanfic chapter book? It's a miracle if LILY recovers from the shock.  
Me~ She's on vacation, I'll have to call her when she gets home.  
Heather~ You can't post this yet.  
Me~ I know, I just had to start typing it. Are you staying with me for a while Heather?  
Heather~ Somebody has to control you and that "brilliant" mind. I think I will.  
Me~ Aren't you going to miss SIRIUS?  
Heather~ I can leave you know.  
Me~ I'm sorry. I have to get a cool cloth. I can't believe this is happening!  
Heather~ You can't believe it? Think about Lily!  
Me~ I know. I'm afraid. I'm VERY afraid. I think people need to pray for me. I hope everybody likes this. Review! * puts cool cloth to head while Heather complains about crazy girls* Heather!  
Heather~ Sorry!  
Me~ Please review. And don't be mad!) 


	2. Nightmares Again

Chapter Two  
Nightmares Again?  
  
Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione found a compartment all to themselves. Ginny sat next to Hermione and Ron sat next to Harry. They started playing childish Muggle games that Harry and Hermione had taught Ron and Ginny last year. Ginny became tired and decided to sit a game out. All of a sudden, she was overwhelmed and fell asleep.  
  
She was standing in a dark place. All she could see were the trees around her. She felt scared and upset. Then she figured that Lily Potter was visiting her like she had so many times last year. "Lily?" She called, but nobody answered. "James?" Still no answer. "Anybody?" Suddenly, a cackle rose out of the air. She spun around, yet she couldn't see anyone there. "Who's there?" She called, really becoming frightened now. The voice that answered sounded cold and harsh. It was a voice that she had heard twice before, but she couldn't remember who it belonged to. "Can the little rose come out and play?" It started to laugh, a cold, icy laugh that chilled Ginny's bone to listen to. "Who are you?" She called, wanting to get out of her own mind, but she couldn't. She was trapped. Trapped by the taunting she spun around, the laugh continuing on and on in her head. "Stop! Stop it and leave me alone!" She started to scream, and the laughing stopped. She opened her eyes. Harry was lying before her. "Harry? Oh, Harry, I am so glad it's you. I keep hearing this person laughing and . . ." She stopped, and looked more closely at him. He was bleeding, a deep wound in his side. "Harry? Harry, what happened?" Harry didn't answer. His body started to change. His hair becoming bushy and brown, his teeth becoming bucked, and he was Hermione. This time, there were slashes across her face, her eyes wide and afraid. "Hermione? No! This is a dream. Come on Rose, pull yourself together and wake up." She turned around, and saw Ron lying there. He was badly wounded, too. "Stop!" She screamed. "Stop messing with my emotions!" The laugh continued, high, unending. "You can't escape me, little rose. You got away once, but you can't live. Not while I am alive. I will destroy the people you love most, and then I will destroy you!" A caped figure came out of the darkness. The hood drawn up, she could not see the face. "Leave me alone!" She screamed again. She ran past the hooded figure, and saw the corpses of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "They will be your undoing, Rose. You mustn't love. Love is for the weak. Those who are weak can never survive." Harry, Ron, and Hermione became Mary, Bill, and Lynn. They became Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill. Then they became Percy, Fred and George. Then there was Charlie and Sandy. It finally went back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Stop!" She yelled, and then collapsed near the bodies and started crying. The man continued to laugh. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't control it. It was going to drive her insane if the laughing didn't stop. She curled up in a ball as the corpses continued to change, the order changing with it. Harry, Charlie, Percy. Lynn, Hermione, Bill. Ron, Harry, Mary. She was going to go insane. She was going to be trapped in this nightmare. "No!" She yelled. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"  
  
"Rose, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here." That voice? Was it that man? Was the man here, and getting ready to kill her the minute she opened her eyes? "Rose? Come on, you have to wake up. We're almost to Hogwarts." She opened her eyes slowly, and looked up into two green eyes. "Harry? You're alive?" "Last time I checked I was. Maybe I better check again, what do you think?" He said, the old glint coming back to his eyes. She realized his arms were around her and that she was on the floor. "What happened?" She asked slowly. "Where are Pawn and Books?" "They went out to get some Chocolate Frogs. Remember what Professor Lupin used to do? Whenever someone wasn't so well, he'd pull out some chocolate. So they decided we should try it one more time." She laughed a little, not quite used to being awake again yet. "What was so wrong? You kept screaming stop, and then fell out of your seat." Harry said, looking concerned. "I couldn't wake you up. Is there something the matter?" "No," she said, touching her forehead tentatively where it felt like it was burning. "No, I'm fine. Just a little nightmare, that's all." "Are you sure?" "Harry, I'm fine." Ron and Hermione came in, both with arms full of Chocolate Frogs. "You got her awake!" Yelled Hermione. "Yeah, she came through about five minutes after you two left." "Are you okay Rose? You had us really afraid for a minute there." Said Hermione. "I thought Pawn was going to pass out. He was really afraid for you. We all were." Said Harry. Hermione turned to look at him. She at least had heard the love in his voice. Ron, however, was busy opening a Chocolate Frog for Ginny, breaking off a small piece and placing it into her mouth. "Are you going to be okay?" Asked Hermione. "Should we get someone?" Ginny finished chewing up the Chocolate Frog before she answered. "No. I am going to be fine. Really. Now what are we supposed to do with all these Chocolate Frogs? You didn't expect me to eat them all by myself did you?" They all laughed. Ginny couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty that the nightmare had left her with. In about five minutes, they changed into their Hogwarts robes, just before the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Called the familiar voice of Hagrid. They all waved at him, and he waved back, just before he led a line of scared looking little first years to where the boats were taking them to Hogwarts. They climbed into a carriage, and it pulled them away. They watched as the tall turrets of Hogwarts castle came into view. "You notice that a lot of the first years looked a lot younger than they normally do this year?" Asked Ron, looking over at them to see if they agree. "Yeah, I noticed that too." Agreed Hermione. "Do you think Dumbledore invited the kids younger than usual that had magical potential because of all the deaths last year?" Ginny shivered. All those children that had died. Just so that Voldemort could get more power and lose it. She hoped that Harry wouldn't have to carve anymore names on that rock this year. "Maybe. He might not have wanted to take any chances this year." Said Harry, wisely. "Or it's because we are getting so old, that they just look younger than they should." Suggested Ron. They all looked at each other, and said at the same time. "Nah!" Sally slithered over to Ginny. "Hey Rosssse. I know you were lying to everybody when you sssaid you were okay. I'm going to ssstay with you tonight ssso I can talk to you, and make sssure that what ever wasss bothering you on the train thisss afternoon doesssn't bother you tonight. If it doesss, I'm going to go get Harry, and you have to tell him what isss wrong." "Why?" "If you two are going to go out, you have to be open to him about thessse thingsss. He'sss Harry, he'll underssstand if you have to wake him up in the middle of the night. Essspecially for sssomething asss important asss that." "Thanks Sal." "No problem." "Sometimes you knowing my feelings is a pain." "And then at other timesss it'sss a blessssing. I know."  
  
They walked up the stone steps. Ginny was uncertain about what this year would bring. Would it bring another bundle of deaths? Would there be a new prophesy? Would there be a new Harry's parents' old friend teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts? Or would it be a *gasp* normal year? They walked into the Great Hall and the first thing that Ginny noticed was the new lady, that must have been the D.A.D.A. teacher. Hermione noticed her, too. "She looks nice enough." Said Hermione. Indeed, she was a middle-aged woman who had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very nice smile, and smiled at everybody as they walked in. "Well," said Harry as they all sat down. "This is probably a miracle." "What is?" Asked Ron. "This is the first Sorting that I will have been to since my own." "Yeah, that's right." Said Ginny, surprised that she just realized that. "Congratulations Harry!" "Hear! Hear!" Agreed Ron and Hermione. Ginny looked around at the other house tables. There was Draco, sitting with the Slytherins. She frowned. He didn't look to good. She wondered what was wrong with him. Had his father been beating him again this summer? Was he safe at his house? Should she have told someone about his father and his brutal behavior? She couldn't really think about that right now, because Randy, the girl that Harry had saved last year, had come over to say hello to him. "Hi Harry!" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "Randy! How has my girl been?" "Good! After I came back, I worked really hard and made it into the second year! And everybody has been really nice and supportive of me lately! My mom says to tell you that she said hi, and to thank you again for her. She really likes you Harry. Well, good-bye!" "Bye Randy!" The hall went silent. The first years came in with scared looks on their faces as they stood in line, waiting for the Sorting to begin, Harry noticed a little girl that looked a lot like Oliver Wood. She had the same brown hair, and go-for-the-gold glint in her eye. He pointed this out to Ginny. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I noticed that too. Now we have to be quiet though, the Sorting is starting." Professor McGonagall was carrying out the stool and the old school's Sorting Hat, that sorted the students into their rightful houses. As she set the hat onto the stool, the brim ripped open and broke into song:  
  
Welcome to Hogwarts,  
Where you will learn magic of all sorts.  
  
Before you can sit down to eat,  
I'll sort you through and then you can take your seat.  
  
Try me on and you will see  
I'll tell you where you ought to be.  
  
You might go to Gryffindor  
If you have a brave heart  
  
You might belong to Ravenclaw  
Where dwell the very smart.  
  
You might go into Hufflepuff  
Where sit the loyal friends  
  
Or down to sly old Slytherin  
Who are cunning to the end.  
  
So try me on and I will say  
Where you belong, and there you'll stay.  
  
The crowd broke into applause as the hat bowed to each of the houses and then stood still. "Could one of you please tell me why the Sorting Hat sang a different song than it did the time I got sorted?" Asked Harry, sounding more like he was whining than he meant to. "Because it makes up a new song every year. You'd think that the hat would have more to do than just sit around all day. It probably uses the whole year to make up a new song." Said Ginny as the Sorting Hat sorted Susanna Applebee into Hufflepuff. The Sorting went on until, at last, it finished with Carrie Wood, who became a Gryffindor. "I knew she looked like Wood!" Said Harry, as he applauded with the rest of the Gryffindors at Carrie's arrival. Dumbledore stood up to face the students, looking pleased to see them all there. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I have two words to say to you and here they are. Tuck in." "Hear hear!" Yelled all of the older students as the plates filled up with delicious food. Everybody ate until they were filled to the bursting point, and Dumbledore stood up again. "I have just a few more words before you all turn into your dormitories. I want to first introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Crumbie." She stood up briefly and took a small bow while everybody applauded her. "She has kindly taken the role, and hopefully you will all make her feel right at home. Also, Mr. Filch would like me to please remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, and the list of forbidden items among students still hangs outside of his office, if any student wishes to see it." He smiled slightly. "Now, will the prefects please lead the first years up to their dormitories? Good night." Harry stood up with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and headed for the Gryffindor common room. Before they could leave the Great Hall, however, Draco Malfoy came up to them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the return of the infamous Dream Team. Did you all have a good summer?" He asked with a mock kind tone in his voice. "It went very well, thank you." Commented Ginny. Harry looked at her in amazement. How could she always sound so kind to him when he tries to sound so mean? "Heard your mom got attacked. What did she do wrong?" He asked in a would be mocking voice, but Ginny alone could hear the kindness in his voice. Malfoy was afraid for Mrs. Weasley. "Nothing." Said Ron, irritated. He hadn't heard what had happened with Malfoy last year yet. "Shove it Malfoy." "Oh, I'm afraid of the little Weasel. You'll get what your mother did next Ronnie, I promise." And with that, Malfoy left them. "I don't get how you can be so kind to him Rose." Said Hermione, shaking her head. "He seems rotten to the core." Ginny didn't answer as they all walked up the steps toward Gryffindor tower.  
  
( T/N: Heather~ You're pretty fast.  
Me~ Thank you. I finished chapters one and two in less than a day.  
Heather~ Maybe Lily should take lessons from you.  
Me~ Don't talk about your creator like that!  
Heather~ Her fans are getting impatient.  
Me~ She's on vacation with Ally, and I think Draco is going with them. Maybe she'll get some work done.  
Heather~ Your Sorting Hat song seems a little plain.  
Me~ So I couldn't think of anything good! Lily's the good one. I mean, she wrote a prophesy that was 3 pages long!  
Heather~ Yeah, J.K. Rowling's sudden prophesy idea seemed a little fishy.  
Me~ You noticed that too? And how about the sudden mention of murtlaps? Did she ever mention murtlaps before?  
Heather~ Not that I can think of.  
Me~ I'm going to talk to Lily about this when she gets home. I'm sure she'll agree with me about the weirdness of the murtlap.  
Heather~ What am I? Chopped liver?  
Me~ No, I just like to get her opinion.  
Heather~ Well, okay.  
Me~ See ya guys! Review! :) ) 


	3. Professor Crumbie

Chapter Three  
Professor Crumbie  
  
She was there again. Where the trees seemed to engulf her. She couldn't escape. She couldn't get away. She was going to die.  
"No! No!" She screamed yet again. The man was coming towards her. His wand was pulled out. He was going to kill her like he killed Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Sally. She couldn't escape. This was it . . .  
  
"That's it!" Yelled Sally. "I'm bringing Harry in!"  
"Oh, no Sal. Don't bring him in here. You can't. Tell him I'll meet him down in the common room."  
"Fine, but if you aren't down there in five minutes, I'm coming up to get you."  
"Fine!" Ginny said, very grumpily. Stupid nightmare. It had to come. Now Harry was going to wake up and be annoyed that she woke him up because of another stupid nightmare. The nightmare probably didn't even mean anything, either.  
Sitting up, she wrapped her blanket around herself, and walked quietly past where Samantha and her friends slept, trying not to wake them up.  
The minute she sat down, Harry popped onto the couch beside her. "I see you're apparating farther distances now." Commented Ginny.  
"What's this Sally is telling me about nightmares? What are they about exactly?" Harry asked, looking concerned into her eyes.  
Ginny quickly explained the two nightmares that she had had, and why she thought they were coming to her. "It can't be anything to serious, I've just been really worried lately and this is probably just an effect from that."  
"Yet you can picture it so well, I don't think that you are getting these nightmares just because you are worried, Rose, I think that somebody is sending you these dreams. Have you been able to figure out who the man in the nightmares is?"  
Ginny had a suspicion that she did know who the man was, but she couldn't tell Harry. "No, I don't."  
"You know. I do know when you are lying Rose, and you're lying to me right now. Who do you think the man is?"  
"I think," she gulped nervously and looked Harry straight in the eyes, "I think that it's Voldemort."  
Harry clenched his jaw. He didn't want to worry Ginny at the suspicions that he had, and the worries that he had as well, so he kept his mouth shut.  
Suddenly, Ginny burst into tears.  
"Rose, what is it?"  
Ginny pulled Harry into a hug and cried into his shoulder. "Harry, the dreams are so real. I'm afraid that you and everybody else that I love are going to die. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm afraid to go to sleep, for fear that I'll see you, Ron, Hermione, and Sally dead. Then, when I am asleep, I'm afraid to get up in fear that the dream had come true. It's so realistic, Harry."  
"Hush, Rose. It's okay. I'm here for you. It's okay." He ran his fingers through her hair, and waited for her to calm down. It took her a while, but soon she was relaxing on Harry's shoulder.  
"Thanks, Harry. I've been really worried lately, I wish I could stop being so worried." her voice was slightly muffled because she had buried her face into his shoulder.  
"Look, why don't we sleep down here tonight. You can sleep on the couch here, and I'll sleep over on that chair over there. If you need me, I'll be right here with you." He walked over to one of the more comfortable chairs by the fire and conjured up a blanket for himself. Ginny turned her head, and looked at him one last time before she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.  
She woke up the next morning feeling more rested than she had in a long time. She looked over at the clock that hung over the mantle piece in the common room. It read, '7:00 o'clock, students are about to wake up.' Ginny turned, and saw that Harry was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him, but then again, there would be a lot of questions if somebody caught them and asked them why they had slept downstairs all night. Especially since they had been down there together.  
She walked over to him, wondering how she was supposed to wake him up. Grinning at the thought that he might kill her if she woke him up in the way she was about to wake him up, she brushed her hair behind her ear so it wouldn't touch him, and whispered in his ear.  
"Harry," she said in a voice that didn't sound anything like her own. "I have your girlfriend. You better get up before I kill her." She drew back quickly as he shot upright, looking around quickly and then, seeing her perfectly fine, frowned.  
"That's not funny," he murmured, rubbing his eyes.  
"I'm sorry, I couldn't think of any other way to wake you up." She said with a small grin. "I think we better head up to our dormitories, if anyone catches us down here, we could be in serious trouble."  
"All right, get your blanket and take my hands." She did so, and the moment she grabbed his hands, they Apparated into Ginny's dorm.  
"Thanks, but you better get out of here now before Samantha and her friends wake up."  
"I'm gone." he said with a wink, and he Disapparated.  
Ginny sighed, and started to pull on her robes just as Samantha woke up. She didn't say a word to her, she just left to go get Hermione.  
She met her on the staircase, bag already with her. "Good morning Rose!" she said with a smile.  
"Good morning Books!" Ginny said, returning the smile  
"How long do you think it'll be until the boys meet us this morning?" Hermione asked with a laugh.  
"I don't know, but I do know that I'm starving!" With that, they raced each other down to the Great Hall to get some breakfast.  
After about half an hour, the boys met up with them, Harry looking more awake than Ron.  
"Good morning boys!" Hermione said cheerfully.  
"What's so good about it?" asked Ron. "We have to get up, get to work all day, then lay down. Good is not my definition of the morning."  
"Geez, somebody's cranky." murmured Ginny as Harry sat down next to her.  
"What do you have today?" asked Harry to Hermione will he started to get some eggs and bacon.  
"Well, first Ron and I have Herbology, then Potions, and then we have Life Class. And what about you Rose?" Asked Hermione.  
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Potions."  
Ron looked up at the teacher's table. "I wonder what the new Defense teacher is like? Is she nice, or is she mean?"  
"Rose will just have to tell us, won't she?" Said Harry. "Of course I will! We better get going to class before we're late though." Harry looked down at his watch. They had ten minutes to get their first class. "You're right. We'll see you later than, Rose." Harry gave her a hug and, to hide what that meant, so did Hermione. "Thanks," whispered Ginny into Hermione's ear. "Don't worry about it. When you guys are ready to tell, you will." "See ya Pawn." called Ginny, and she walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She sat in the first row, waiting for the rest of the class to come in and the class to start. The teacher, Professor Crumbie, walked in and looked at her surprised. "An early student? Are you sure I'm not dreaming?" she said, smiling slightly at her. "I'm almost always early. Unless I have to help my friends, and then sometimes I can be a little late." Professor Crumbie smiled even more widely. She murmured softly so that Ginny couldn't hear, "Just like Lily at her age." Professor Crumbie was a very sweet teacher. It happened that she had traveled the world a lot, and came to find a lot of new and fascinating dark creatures, not to mention a few dark wizards. She wasn't like Professor Lockhart who had bragged openly about his "adventures", and Professor Quirrel who had lied to everybody about his adventures. She actually was kind, and asked the students what type of story they would like to hear first. All the students were highly impressed by her, and couldn't wait to hear stories about her travels. It was only Samantha who seemed to be able to ruin it. "Have you ever encountered You-Know-Who or one of his followers?" she asked incredulously, for she didn't seem as ready as the other students to believe that this woman had done so many great things. Professor Crumbie feel silent for a moment. Ginny could see the pained look in her eyes. But as suddenly as it had appeared, Professor Crumbie's eyes returned to normal, and she said, rather quickly, "I think that's enough stories for one day. They're supposed to last me all year, and you're about to clean me out in one day!" she said as a joke, but she seemed to have lost her touch. The students seemed to enjoy her a lot, and they couldn't stop talking about her stories after class and on the way to lunch. "Can you believe how she destroyed the banshee?" "And how about the pack of werewolves?" "I don't believe a word of it," said Samantha snootily, tossing her hair to one side. "If she had been a real hero, she would have had to deal with the Death Eaters, or even You-Know-Who, like Harry." Her eyes misted over as she thought about him. "To bad Daffodil over here thinks she has a chance with him. Do you notice how she totally hangs over him, and you can tell that he doesn't like it. Did you notice how he grimaced when they hugged this morning?" she let out a fake sigh. "It's just to sad." She said this all rather loudly, and her friends nodded in agreement, even though not all of them agreed with her. Ginny didn't say anything. She was trying to hard not to smile.  
  
The end of the day came quickly for Ginny. At dinner, Ron was complaining about Snape as usual. "That old git! He is making us do three rolls of parchment on a Vanishing Potion!" he yelled, but not loud enough so that Snape could hear him at the teachers' table. Harry stood up, and started speaking in Parseltongue to Ginny. "Meet me in my dorm in five minutes. I want to talk to you privately, so I think we need to go to the hidden chamber." Ginny nodded, slightly surprised. What was the problem that he needed to speak so privately about? (T/N: I'm sooo happy! Heather~Oh no! Here she goes again! Me~Everyone, there's this guy that I've liked for almost a year now, and I finally got up the courage to tell him . . . Heather~And he didn't say yes. Me~Well, he didn't say no either, did he? No, he didn't. We're going to call him "Matt" {not real name} And Matt said that he would like to get to know me better and hang out with me more, he just doesn't like to date. Heather~Or maybe he just wanted to let you down gently? Me~Shove it Heather. I notice you waited until you were 29 to tell Sirius. I'm going to stop writing now so I can tease Heather freely. I'm going to also stop putting Tisha's notes in for a while, because I'm sure that everyone is getting sick of them. But hey, if you want them to continue, just write it in a review. And if you want to hear more about Matt, just mention so, so I can e-mail ya and talk to ya. If anybody needs advice or help, I'm here too! Luv ya guys! Review!) 


	4. Into the Tower Again

**Chapter Four**

**Into the Tower Again  
**

Ginny and Harry rode on Harry's broom up to where the statues of the snake, the badger, the lion, and the raven stood there waiting for them. The eyes on the statues seemed to glint with expectation, as though they knew that Ginny and Harry had been planning to come. Harry had Sally bite his finger just enough that a little bit of blood came out and put his finger onto the lion's tongue. As he did so, he looked at Ginny and began to wonder if he should have tried to have her open the lion instead.

_'And what if it didn't work? What if she got upset, and we stopped dating because of it? I wouldn't be able to bear that.' _Harry thought to himself, and then he climbed into the mouth and slid down. Ginny following closely behind.

They both settled down onto the couch. "What's so urgent Harry?" Ginny asked, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he said, jumping right into it. "I have so many classes, I'm taking a few of my NEWTs this year, I have to try and train up a whole new Quidditch team, and what if another incident like last year happens again?"

Ginny looked at him thoughtfully. "Harry, do you think you're brave?"

Harry nodded slightly, wondering where in the world that had come from. "I think I am pretty brave, why Rose?"

"Harry, you are a smart, funny, and sweet guy that has handled everything that has been thrown his way. I think you can handle your classes and the NEWTs. Plus, you have me and the other Gryffindor players to help you with the team."

Ginny looked at the picture of Sirius and Heather. "Do you think that they knew James painted that?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Harry replied. He was beginning to feel a little drowsy.

"Harry, what do you think Pawn will say when he finds out about us?" she said in a very sleepy tone.

Harry was already asleep.

"Oh dear," said Lily, looking at Ginny and Harry dead asleep. "James, if they stay in here much longer, they might not be able to get out."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Harry spent half his time down here last year, and nothing happened."

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about the two of them. Something's going to happen, and it's not going to be pretty."

"They're meant to be together, I can see that."

"Yes, but this year is going to be the hardest year that they've ever had to face, and they should've figured out their feelings a long time ago. Now everything is going to come to them to fast."

"You mean-"

"No, they're not going to do that, but they will have a hard time getting everything together, and with their feelings on top of that, well, there might be some problems."

"Do you think we should wake them up?"

"Yes. I'll whisper into his ear to wake him up and then we'll leave."

"Shouldn't they know?"

"That half the time our spirits are here? No, they're not ready for that yet. Wake up Harry." she whispered softly. "Wake up."

_"Where am I?" asked Ginny to no one. There was a slight mist in the air, and she could see the turrets of a huge castle in the distance. Hogwarts? No, this place was slightly smaller._

_"What am I wearing?" she wondered aloud as she looked at the sleeveless blood red dress that she wore. She touched her hair, that had been put up in a tight bun with little trendels of it hanging down, not unlike the way she had done Books' hair for the Christmas dance last year, except the beads were blood red like the dress._

_She looked around. Not much to be seen with all the mist that filled the air. Someone was walking towards her. A cloaked figure that would not leave her alone._

_"Who's there? Why did you bring me here?" she asked._

_The man laughed. A cold, mirthless laugh that made her hair stand on end. "The little rose has been caught, by the man that she so stupidly faught."_

_"No," she whispered. _

_"Your dreams will be your demise, I can assure you that. You might not want to sleep anymore if you want to stay alive."_

_"You can't kill someone in their dreams Tom." she said, with more confidence in that statement than she felt._

_"How can you be so sure, when I have done a good many 'impossible' things?" he retorted, and she could see through the dark hood that there was a smirk playing on his lips._

_She didn't know how to answer that. A lot of things seemed to be a reality when before they had seemed like they would never be true._

_"See?" he said, acknowledging her hesitation and walking slowly around her so he was standing behind her and he started playing with a bit of her hair. "Things are not always what they seem. Like you for instance. You have more power in that body of yours than even you can imagine."_

_She backed away from him, looking horrified. Why was he touching her in this way? Was he just taunting her, getting ready to attack?_

_He grabbed her, and didn't let go. He pulled her close and said, with an almost thirst in his voice, "You will die Rose. You're ready for it. I can sense it in you, building up. Once that power of yours shows itself, you will die. And that will be sooner than you think." And with that, he let her go. She started to fall through a blackness that came out of nowhere. What was she going to do?_

"Rose? Rose, wake up."

Ginny raised her head. "What?"

"I think we should go, there's something wrong here, I don't know what it is, but we have to leave." said Harry in a worried voice.

"Harry, I have to tell you about the dream I had first." she told him patiently everything that she had just seen and heard. With every new thing his face grew darker and more serious.

"Do you think he's going to try and have you killed in your dreams?"

"I don't know, from what he was saying, it sure seemed that way. And apparently I have a lot of power, and don't know it yet and when it shows up _that's_ when I'm going to die."

"Well, then, I guess we'll have to supress your power then, won't we? I think we better talk to Dumbledore about this tomorrow morning. Right now, we better get back to our dorms and get some sleep. I'll send Sal to stay with you."

"Thanks Harry."

And with that, they left the tower, the mouth closing slowly behind them, and leaving Harry even more confused and stressed out than when he had first entered.


	5. The Return of Padfoot, Booky, and Moony

**Chapter Five**

**The Return of Padfoot, Booky, and Moony**

Harry had a very hard time falling asleep that night. When he did, his dreams were full of Ginny dying because of a power that made her glow golden. He woke up with a gasp and cold sweat running down his face.

"Rough night?" asked Sally, looking down at him.

"More so than you can imagine." he said softly, and then got ready for school. This morning he knew that he had to have a word with Professor Dumbledore, and he wanted to do it as soon as possible.

Ron woke up and followed him down to the Great Hall. Ron looked almost exactly how Harry felt, his hair all disgruntled and sticking up in odd places. In fact, if he had black hair and a lightningbolt scar, he could have passed as Harry's twin. He had dark circles under his eyes that could have rivaled Lupin's, had Lupin been there. When Harry entered the Great Hall, Dumbledore came towards him, as though he knew that Harry wanted to talk to him.

"Why don't you and I go to my office?" asked Professor Dumbledore. "Ms. Weasley is already there waiting for you."

Harry nodded and, leaving Ron looking thoroughly purplexed, walked with Proffessor Dumbledore up to his office.

"Cockroach Cluster." he said to the gargoyle, and it jumped aside for him. They climbed onto the spiraling staircase and went up to his office.

True to what he said, Harry saw Ginny sitting in one of the more comfortable chairs before Dumbledore's desk. There were also three other people that Harry had not anticapated.

"Harry! Love, you are a sight," said a voice that he knew well and, before he could put a face to that voice, he was swept into Heather's arms and she was kissing his cheek.

"Now now, Heather. You're making Ms. Weasley a little jealous." came the bear-like voice of Sirius Black.

"You're only saying that because you're jealous that I might think he has better looks than you." she retorted in a way that made Harry certain she was joking.

"Well, you know," he said, going along with the joke, "I just can't keep the girl's off me. Isn't that right Rose?"

Ginny shook her head and said, with a very good straight face on, "I think I'd probably prefer Sirius."

It was then that Harry suddenly realized that there was someone else in the room besides Ginny, Heather, Sirius, Dumbledore and himself. He looked by the fire and suddenly cried out, "Proffesor Lupin!"

And sure enough, there he was, in all his shabbiness and simplicity. He didn't look to good, which made Harry think that he probably hadn't had that many jobs of late. Of course, being a werewolf, that really didn't surprise him. But it did make him feel bad knowing that Lupin had probably been having a rough time ever since he had left Hogwart's two years ago.

"Hello Harry. Ms. Weasley here was just telling us about her most recent nightmare. Apparently she has been having them for quite a while."

"Yes. I have no idea if they're just regular nightmares, or if Lord Voldemort is trying to destroy Rose in her sleep. I don't think that we should take this lightly either way, because he might still be after her. The attacks meant for her during the summer makes me think that someone wants to get rid of her and fast."

"You're probably right," replied Dumbledore. " And that's why we are meeting here today. We've agreed that we should have someone near her all the time to make sure that she's okay. Nothing against her of course," he said with a kind smile to Ginny. "We just want to make sure that she is safe at all times. Although Heather here was slightly against it." He added with a nod.

Harry nodded too. He knew exactly why Heather probably was against doing that to Ginny, because almost the same thing was done for her while she was in school.

"I'm sure that Sally would be willing to stay with Rose during the night, and if there is anything needed, she can get me and I will contact you immediately.

"That sounds like a plan." replied Sirius. "What do you think Ginny?"

Ginny nodded in agreement. She figured that it would probably make her feel a lot better knowing that Sally was around.

"Well," said Dumbledore, smiling slightly as Harry went over to Ginny and put a comforting arm around her, "I believe that the two of you have classes to get to. Harry, if you would please escort the lovely Ms. Weasley to her first class, and I will write the both of you a pass."

Harry looked over at Sirius, Heather, and Lupin. "What are you-"

"Meet us in Hagrid's hut at the end of your classes." whispered Heather while Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs and hummed to himself (obviously pretending not to listen) "bring Ron and Hermione and we'll explain there."

"Are you going to be okay?" asked Harry as he and Ginny exited Dumbledore's office with their passes (two feathers from Fawkes).

"Yeah. I wish I hadn't said anything. Everyone is making a huge fuss, and I'm not even sure if the nightmares mean anything. What if everyone's getting all excited over these nightmares, and that's all they are? Nightmares and not messages from old Voldie?"

"Then at least we'll know you're safe. Better to be over protected over nothing then under protected over something." Harry said wisely.

"Harry, sometimes I think you're wiser beyond your years."

"Thank you very much."

They were quiet until they stopped outside of Transfiguration, which was Ginny's first class.

"Well," said Harry, running his fingers nervously through his hair. "I guess I'll see you later." Then he slowly lowered his head and kissed her lightly, and quickly, on the lips.

"Thanks." said Ginny slightly breathless. "I probably needed that. See you later."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione ran down to Hagrid's hut as quickly as they could to find out what was going on. They were slightly breathless as they banged on his door.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." came a loud voice over the booming barks of Fang.

Hagrid opened the door slowly to make sure that it was them, greeted them with a hearty smile, and ushered them inside quickly before closing the door in a hurry.

"Hello everyone," said Heather kindly. "Pawn, you look terrible."

Ron still wasn't looking to good, pretty much like he had that morning. He looked disgruntledly around at Lupin, Heather and Sirius and said, "What are you doing here?"

Harry shrugged to the three of them, because they were glaring at him. "Busy day. I could hardly get a word out, so I could only tell Pawn and Books to meet us here."

"I'm glad you're here." replied Hermione to Lupin, Sirius, and Heather. "But I want to know why. I mean, I understand Sirius and Heather, but why the sudden interest in being here Professor Lupin?"

"Because of the events of last year, Professor Dumbledore thought it would be best if the people who knew the school best, besides himself, were all here making sure that every part of it was secure." answered Professor Lupin.

"Plus, who doesn't want to pass up the opportunity to bug the heck out of Snape?" said Sirius, and they all had a laugh at that.

"Harry, since I'm sure that you and Rose never had a chance to, you might want to tell Pawn and Books about the new nightmares." said Heather.

With that, Harry and Ginny went into what the nightmares were like, and how often they happened, for Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid. By the time that they had finished, they all had worried looks on their faces.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Hermione, looking like she was going to pass out.

"I'll murder the man." murmured Ron, loud enough for everybody to hear.

"Don't be stupid, Pawn. At the moment, there's nothing that anybody can do but wait. Sally will stay with me at night to make sure that I'm okay. If there is any need for any of you, she'll come and get you." said Ginny calmly. She didn't want Ron to be all over her 24/7 making sure that she stayed out of harms way, she had had enough of that over the summer.

They all had casual talk until the bell rang for dinner, when Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny turned to look at the adults.

"Out of curiousity, where are the three of you going to stay?" asked Harry.

"There a few extra rooms throughout the castle where guests are allowed to stay, without being in the way of the students." explained Professor Lupin.

They walked out of Hagrid's cabin together after Sirius put on his disguise as "Paul." Ginny held back.

"No, you all go ahead. I want to go see something." she said apologetically, as Ron and Hermione beckoned her to hurry up.

They shrugged, knowing that it was probably best just to leave her alone. Harry cast one last concerned look her way, and followed the rest of the group back up to the castle.

Ginny walked slowly across the grounds, over to where the two broken stones lay. She clutched her cloak tighter around her. It was only the start of September, but already there was a slight chill in the air that was getting ready for the fall. She looked at the Phoenix Flower that was glittering there in the last shadows of the sun. She knelt down and feltt all the pain coming out of her at once.

"Rossse?"said a small voice. Ginny turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes, to look at Sally. "What'sss wrong?"

"I just wish that I could do something. All those deaths, I want to be able to bring those little kids back to life. And I'm afraid to go to sleep now. I don't want to be the next name on the stones."

"It'sss okay dear," said Sally comfortingly as she climbed up Ginny's leg to get up to her face. "You can't help that all thossse kidsss died. And asss for you being the next name on the lissst, over my dead body. It'll turn out okay, everything alwaysss doesssss around here."

"Thanks Sal. Lets go in to eat. I have a bad feeling right now, I think somebody's watching me."

Sally nodded slightly, and Ginny slowly stood up, regaining her balance carefully, because she was still a little shaky from kneeling down for so long. Sally turned her head while Ginny was walking, and thought that she saw a cloak suddenly swish behind a tree and the profile of a body leaning against it as she looked. She did a double take, but when she looked again, the figure was gone. Still, she had an uneasy feeling that Ginny must have shared because her pace quickened. They didn't look left or right until they finally were inside the castle.

Totally sorry for not posting, I have computer problems. I promise to be more efficient in the future!!! And this is Lily, once again, pretending to be me. –Tish


End file.
